-LRB- CNN -RRB- A British military health care worker in Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola , a UK health agency said .

Medical experts are assessing what to do next , including whether or not the evacuate the infected individual to the United Kingdom for treatment , according to a Public Health England spokesperson .

An Ebola outbreak has devastated parts of West Africa , with Sierra Leone , Guinea and Liberia being the hardest hit nations . The vast majority of the more than 24,000 confirmed , reportable and suspected cases , as well as the nearly 10,000 reported deaths , have been in those three countries , the World Health Organization reports .

In some cases , citizens of other nations have come down with the deadly disease while working there -- as , apparently , is true for the UK military heath care worker whose diagnosis was announced Wednesday .

Authorities are investigating how this person was exposed to the virus and tracing individuals in recent contact with the diagnosed worker , said the Public Health England spokesperson .

`` Any individuals identified as having had close contact will be assessed and a clinical decision made regarding bringing them to the UK , '' the spokesperson said .

Pauline Cafferkey , the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United Kingdom , was discharged from London 's Royal Free Hospital in January after battling the virus .

She is a public health nurse in Scotland 's South Lanarkshire area who was part of a 30-strong team of medical volunteers deployed to West Africa by the UK government last month in a joint endeavor with Save the Children , according to British media outlets .

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Spokesperson : Experts are investigating how the UK military health care worker got Ebola

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It is being decided if the military worker infected in Sierra Leone will return to England

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There have been some 24,000 reported cases and 10,000 deaths in the latest Ebola outbreak